SDP 0421

Semiconductor Device Physics
Lecture 4
Dr.-Ing. Erwin Sitompul

President University
http://zitompul.wordpress.com
2 0 2 1
President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/1
Chapter 3 Carrier Action
Direct and Indirect Semiconductors

E-k Diagrams
Ec
Ec
Phonon
Photon
Photon
Ev Ev
GaAs, GaN Si, Ge
(direct semiconductors) (indirect
semiconductors)
• Little change in momentum is • Large change in momentum is
required for recombination required for recombination
• Momentum is conserved by • Momentum is conserved by
photon (light) emission mainly phonon (vibration)
emission + photon emission
Excess Carrier Concentrations

Values under
Deviation from arbitrary conditions
equilibrium values Equilibrium values
 Positive deviation corresponds to a carrier excess, while

negative deviation corresponds to a carrier deficit.
 Charge neutrality condition:

“Low-Level Injection”
 Often, the disturbance from equilibrium is small, such that the
majority carrier concentration is not affected significantly.
 However, the minority carrier concentration can be significantly
affected.
 For an n-type material
 For a p-type material
 This condition is called “low-level injection condition”.

 The workhorse of the diffusion in low-level injection condition is
the minority carrier (which number increases significantly)
while the majority carrier is practically undisturbed.

Indirect Recombination Rate

 Suppose excess carriers are introduced into an n-type Si
sample by shining light onto it. At time t = 0, the light is turned
off. How does p vary with time t > 0?
 Consider the rate of hole recombination:
NT : number of R–G centers/cm3

Cp : hole capture coefficient
 In the midst of relaxing back to the equilibrium condition, the

hole generation rate is small and is taken to be approximately
equal to its equilibrium value:

Indirect Recombination Rate

 The net rate of change in p is therefore:
where
• For holes in
n-type material
 Similarly,
where
• For electrons
in p-type material

Minority Carrier Lifetime
 The minority carrier lifetime τ is the average time for excess

minority carriers to “survive” in a sea of majority carriers.
 The value of τ ranges from 1 ns to 1 ms in Si and depends on
the density of metallic impurities and the density of
crystalline defects.
 The deep traps originated from impurity and defects capture
electrons or holes to facilitate recombination and are called
recombination-generation centers.

Photoconductor
 Photoconductivity is an optical and electrical phenomenon in
which a material becomes more electrically conductive due to
the absorption of electro-magnetic radiation such as visible
light, ultraviolet light, infrared light, or gamma radiation.
 When light is absorbed by a material like semiconductor, the
number of free electrons and holes changes and raises the
electrical conductivity of the semiconductor.
 To cause excitation, the light that strikes the semiconductor
must have enough energy to raise electrons across the band
gap.

Example: Photoconductor
 Consider a sample of Si at 300 K doped with 1016 cm–3 Boron,
with recombination lifetime 1 μs. It is exposed continuously to
light, such that electron-hole pairs are generated throughout
the sample at the rate of 1020 per cm3 per second, i.e. the
generation rate GL = 1020/cm3/s.
a) What are p0 and n0?
b) What are Δn and Δp?
• Hint: In steady-state
(equilibrium), generation rate
equals recombination rate

Example: Photoconductor
 Consider a sample of Si at 300 K doped with 1016 cm–3 Boron,
with recombination lifetime 1 μs. It is exposed continuously to
light, such that electron-hole pairs are generated throughout
the sample at the rate of 1020 per cm3 per second, i.e. the
generation rate GL = 1020/cm3/s.
c) What are p and n?
d) What are np product?
• Note: The np product can be

very different from ni2 in case
of perturbed/agitated
semiconductor
Net Recombination Rate (General Case)

 For arbitrary injection levels and both carrier types in a non-
degenerate semiconductor, the net rate of carrier
recombination is:
where
• ET : energy level of R–G center

Continuity Equation
 Consider carrier-flux into / out of an infinitesimal volume:
Area A, volume A.dx
Flow of current
JN(x) JN(x+dx)
Flow of electron
dx

Continuity Equation
• Taylor’s Series Expansion
 The Continuity Equations

Minority Carrier Diffusion Equation

 The minority carrier diffusion equations are derived from the
general continuity equations, and are applicable only for
minority carriers.
 Simplifying assumptions:
 The electric field is small, such that:
• For p-type material
• For n-type material
 Equilibrium minority carrier concentration n0 and p0 are

independent of x (uniform doping).
 Low-level injection conditions prevail.
 The minority carrier is important for semiconductor devices
such as solar cells, bipolar transistor, and LED.
Minority Carrier Diffusion Equation

 Starting with the continuity equation for electrons:
 Therefore
 Similarly

Carrier Concentration Notation

 The subscript “n” or “p” is now used to explicitly denote n-type
or p-type material.
 pn is the hole concentration in n-type material
 np is the electron concentration in p-type material
 Thus, the minority carrier diffusion equations are:
• Partial Differential
Equation (PDE)!
• The so called “Heat
Conduction Equation”

Simplifications (Special Cases)
 Steady state:
 No diffusion current:
 No thermal R–G:
 No other processes:
• Solutions for these common
special-case diffusion equation
are provided in the textbook
Minority Carrier Diffusion Length

 Consider the special case:
 Constant minority-carrier (hole) injection at x = 0
 Steady state, no light absorption for x > 0
 The hole diffusion length LP is defined to be:

Similarly,
Minority Carrier Diffusion Length

 The general solution to the equation is:
 A and B are constants determined by boundary conditions:
 Therefore, the solution is:
• Physically, LP and LN represent the

average distance that a minority
carrier can diffuse before it
recombines with a majority carrier.
Example: Minority Carrier Diffusion Length

 Given ND=1016 cm–3, τp = 10–6 s. Calculate LP.
 From the plot,

Quasi-Fermi Levels
 Whenever Δn = Δp ≠ 0 then np ≠ ni2 and we are at non-
equilibrium conditions.
 In this situation, now we would like to preserve and use the
relations:
 On the other hand, both equations imply np = ni2, which does

not apply anymore.
 The solution is to introduce to quasi-Fermi levels FN and FP
such that:
• The quasi-Fermi levels is useful to describe the carrier

concentrations under non-equilibrium conditions
Example: Quasi-Fermi Levels

 Consider a Si sample at 300 K with ND = 1017 cm–3 and
Δn = Δp = 1014 cm–3.
a) What are p and n? • The sample is an n-type
b) What is the np product?

Example: Quasi-Fermi Levels

 Consider a Si sample at 300 K with ND = 1017 cm–3 and
Δn = Δp = 1014 cm–3. 0.417 eV
Ec
FN
c) Find FN and FP?
Ei
FP
Ev
0.238 eV

Homework 4 (1/2)
 1.
(6.17)
A certain semiconductor sample has the following properties:
DN = 25 cm2/s τn0 = 10–6 s
DP = 10 cm2/s τp0 = 10–7 s
It is a homogeneous, p-type (NA = 1017 cm–3) material in thermal equilibrium
for t ≤ 0. At t = 0, an external light source is turned on which produces
excess carriers uniformly at the rate GL = 1020 cm–3 s–1.
At t = 2×10–6 s, the external light source is turned off.
(a) Derive the expression for the excess-electron concentration as a
function of time for 0 ≤ t ≤ ∞.
(b) Determine the value of the excess-electron concentration at
(i) t = 0, (ii) t = 2×10–6 s, and (iii) t = ∞.
(c) Plot the excess electron concentration as a function of time.
 Problem 2 on the next slide.

Homework 4 (2/2)
 2.
(4.38)
Problem 3.24
Pierret’s “Semiconductor Device Fundamentals”
Replace the figure on the book with the figure below
 Hint: Draw all sketches/ graph using ruler

 Deadline: Thursday, at 18:30.

SDP 0421

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Semiconductor Device Physics

Dr.-Ing. Erwin Sitompul

Direct and Indirect Semiconductors

Excess Carrier Concentrations

 Positive deviation corresponds to a carrier excess, while

 Charge neutrality condition:

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/3

 For an n-type material

 For a p-type material

 This condition is called “low-level injection condition”.

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/4

Indirect Recombination Rate

NT : number of R–G centers/cm3

 In the midst of relaxing back to the equilibrium condition, the

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/5

Indirect Recombination Rate

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/6

Minority Carrier Lifetime

 The minority carrier lifetime τ is the average time for excess

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/7

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/8

a) What are p0 and n0?

b) What are Δn and Δp?

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/9

c) What are p and n?

d) What are np product?

• Note: The np product can be

Net Recombination Rate (General Case)

• ET : energy level of R–G center

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/11

Area A, volume A.dx

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/12

• Taylor’s Series Expansion

 The Continuity Equations

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/13

Minority Carrier Diffusion Equation

• For p-type material

• For n-type material

 Equilibrium minority carrier concentration n0 and p0 are

Minority Carrier Diffusion Equation

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/15

Carrier Concentration Notation

 Thus, the minority carrier diffusion equations are:

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/16

Simplifications (Special Cases)

Minority Carrier Diffusion Length

 The hole diffusion length LP is defined to be:

Minority Carrier Diffusion Length

 A and B are constants determined by boundary conditions:

 Therefore, the solution is:

• Physically, LP and LN represent the

Example: Minority Carrier Diffusion Length

 From the plot,

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/20

 On the other hand, both equations imply np = ni2, which does

• The quasi-Fermi levels is useful to describe the carrier

Example: Quasi-Fermi Levels

a) What are p and n? • The sample is an n-type

b) What is the np product?

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/22

Example: Quasi-Fermi Levels

President University Erwin Sitompul SDP 4/23

 Problem 2 on the next slide.